Local history

We’ll be reproducing selected articles from our archive in this section of our website, as well as adding news and features as the year goes on. First off there’s an article originally published in Issue 2: the amazing story of the Birkenhead-built Confederate warship, the CSS Alabama. Go to the ‘LOCAL HISTORY’ menu above to read this incredible tale.

Issue 4 of The Merseysider magazine (now available) has some great local history features, including:

– An interview with BBC Radio Merseyside’s Frankie Connor, about the book It All Came Tumbling Down. Originally published in 1986, this remarkable book has recently been republished (in a revised, expanded edition) by Countyvise books. It’s a collection of photographs of Liverpool taken by his brother Freddy, with accompanying text. The book is a fascinating record of the many Liverpool streets and buildings that disappeared between the Sixties and the Eighties.

– An interview with Tony Crowley, whose new book Scouse: A Social and Cultural History(published by Liverpool University Press) is a fascinating study of the language of Liverpool.

– An account of the 19th century American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne’s years on Merseyside as the US Consul.

– A feature on Daniel K Longman’s recent book Merseyside War Years: Then And Now(published by The History Press).

– An article on Eleanor Roosevelt’s historic visit to Liverpool during World War Two.

– A review of Frank Carlyle’s Liverpooland a chance to win this new book by the celebrated local historian.

– And last but not least, Forgotten Lancashire- an hilarious introduction by the authors themselves to the comic, alternative history of the region that’s received rave reviews since its recent publication.